We seem to forget our heroes very quickly.

What a truly tragic situation - that poor man. To lose his sight, his job, his wife and family - I can see why he felt life was not worth living any more. The remedial action/caring should have started 2 years ago not just "when they became aware something might have happened". I agree he was totally let down.

Such a tragedy - What a dreadful time he must have had. So sad

This is heartbreakingly sad - and a pointed reminder to government that 'backroom staff' such as welfare officers might have made a difference to this poor man.

His life was sad and tragic after he was shot. He's OK now. I can understand why he didn't want to go on living. I think I'd feel the same in those circumstances. Brave man. I honour his decision.

Members of the armed forces get very little help once they are discharged and many turn to drink or drugs because they cannot cope without the discipline and camaraderie of forces life.
A disproportionate number end up on the streets or in prison.
It is almost inevitable that if you spend years training someone to obey orders and work as part of a team, they are going to have problems when they are just abandoned to civilian life.

It is a scandal greatnan
I think with individuals the press wants to tell a story about victim being brave and cracking jokes. Same applies to cancer patients. We want to believe the upbeat story - not the one that their life has been shattered and that they are feeling sad and angry.

1 in 10 prisoners are ex-servicemen - nearly 9,000. There are even more subject to probation supervision - in total, more than have been serving in Afghanistan. The ones who end up getting convictions are angry, using drugs and alcohol, being violent to their spouses and getting involved in pub brawls. There's a high level of post-traumatic stress disorder, which is what PC Rathbone was suffering from.

His despair was evident in his face. The poor, poor man. As Bagitha said, he's alright now, but he WAS forgotten.

It is very sad and a shocking condemnation of society. Nevertheless, was this man actually a hero rather than an unfortunate victim?

I take your point, absent. The tabloid press has devalued the word 'hero' to mean virtually anyone who puts on a uniform. Surely our vocabulary is so rich that we could retain the word for those whose actions truly merit it.

I think if I'd been a policeman in that area that day,I would have thrown a sickie!

Could you really have sat in that car, waiting?

I agree carol.

PTSD is a serious and life challenging mental illness, which unfortunately can be considered as something 'a bit of counselling' can overcome. In many cases, that doesn't even touch it, and can do more harm than good.

PC Rathbone decided he'd had enough. It was his choice. That is what lies at the bottom of PTSD - not having control over horrendous situations, but having to live with the consequences. Sometimes that can be impossible.

I think I might have been advocating something more than "a bit of counselling". I've no doubt he had plenty of that at the time. I'm talking of on-going care.

Defining on-going care, and how that might be provided is one thing, and if it suits the person then in some cases it can be welcomed and embraced, but if it is consistently rejected (which is a common symptom of PTSD) then unfortunately there is little that can be done. (I am not saying PC Rathbone did so - but might explain his decision to end his life).
I think, in situations such as these, there can be a tendency to 'blame' services for not responding adequately, but in my book there is only one person who could be held responsible for his suicide, and that is the man who shot him.

I agree, butty. I had written a post but deleted it as I wasn't happy with it. What I was saying is that I think we need to be more accepting of a person's decision to die. If I had been shot and blinded and my partner had then left me, then found that "being brave" about it was really not lessening my despair, I think I might very well choose to be dead rather than "cared for". Death can be a positive choice to end despair. I think we should accept this and I think we should also accept that we can't always help. That's not to say we shouldn't try but apportioning blame when the help doesn't work or wasn't wanted is pointless. As I said before, I honour PC Rathbone's choice.

I think he might have had a bit more than post traumatic distress syndrome tbh. Like sudden onset black blindness, and ongoing pain.

Befriending would have been good.

I can understand him wanting to die. But ignoring the obvious threats of suicide he made on Twitter cannot have been right. Someone from the Police should have been round there before the event.

Why is it felt necessary to prevent suicide?

Especially in cases like this one. Seems like a good option to me.

Perhaps just a bit longer.........

Of course he did, whatsup and I didn't intend to negate his terrible physical problems, and I am sorry if you thought I did.

Befriending indeed would have been good, but my point was that even if that was in place, and even if the police had responded to his mention of being suicidal, that would not have necessarily prevented his ultimate decision to die.
He had a choice, and he made it. He no longer chose to live.

P.C. Olds was 24 when he committed suicide after being paralysed. He had been very fit and sporty and he could not face his situation. His life - his choice. Christopher Reeve's foundation is raising funds for research into spinal cord injuries - possibly stem cells could he the answer.
I can see circumstances in which I would choose to die, but not as long as I have family who love me - unless I was in unbearable and incurable pain and then I hope they would understand.